Clean Energy Ministerial Wraps Up With Efficiency, Renewables Targets

The US launched the conferences in 2010 to accelerate the transition to clean energy by getting the world's most polluting countries together to collaborate on policies and technologies. Energy Ministers from 23 countries attended, representing 80% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and 80% of clean energy investment.

Significantly, they signed onto United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL) initiative, making it more likely to be adopted during the June Rio+20 summit:

As part of the Smart Grid Network, energy ministers are launching the 21st Century Power Partnership to share policies and technologies for integrating renewable nergy in larger electrical grids. They will also help move technologies from the lab to commercialization stage.

One of the group's goals is to eliminate the need for 650 mid-size power plants, which would reduce carbon emissions 11 billion tons by 2030.

Since the Clean Energy Ministerial launched, it has already facilitated sales of off-grid lighting systems in Africa for half a million homes.